As Korean society today requires much from youth, it is inevitable that they feel a separation between their dreams and reality. Striving to reduce this gap for those who struggle with this problem, Ahopsi, a new-media platform, published a book titled 20s: You Decided to Live Like Yourself.

20s: You Decided to Live Like Yourself inspires youth to realize and pursue their passion. Photo provided by Yoo Byong-on

20s: You Decided to Live Like Yourself was published on May 16, comprising a collection of interviews which voiced the stories of 16 people. The book introduced people from very different vocations, including carpenters, cartoon artists, conductors, top fashion designers, performers, VR performance artists and many more. The message of the book was evident from the preface: “We wanted to state that one can find the courage to live with faithfulness to one’s own wishes and not the wishes of society.”

The CEO of Ahopsi, stated that there was one conspicuous similarity between the 16 inspiring interviewees.

“They all concentrated on the present,” Yoo said. “They didn’t linger in the past or worry overly about the future. I think that’s the key to success.”

Channel Ahopsi was established in 2016 by CEO Yoo Byong-On to motivate viewers to dream. As they introduced themselves on Facebook, “Ahopsi (9 o’clock): a time for someone to work, a time for someone to dream, new-media Ahopsi adds your dream to your career.”

In this way, Ahopsi strives to inspire passion in youth through the many videos on their Youtube channel and their articles on Naver Post and Ahopsi Brunch. They have already influenced a vast amount of people, proven by their 4,927 Youtube subscribers, and 24,100 people following their Naver Post.

“A lot of people think ‘work’ is something negative,” Yoo said. “This is because they work in fields are not passionate for. Ahopsi creates contents inspiring people to do what they wish to do.”

Ahopsi creates videos under titles such as “Habits That Bring about Achievements,” “Rediscovering Jobs,” “Ahopsi X Report on Korea’s Startup Companies,” and more. The videos introduce audiences to different vocations and give insight to the incredible passion and pride people hold in their jobs.

“We tried to convey the message that as long as you do something you like and endeavor as hard as possible, you will be happy,” Yoo stated, citing a carpenter, one of the 16 interviewees in the book.

“People used to avoid being carpenters as it was considered an unattractive job. The carpenter we interviewed, however, did not agree. He told us that becoming a carpenter was the best decision he has ever made. The energy he released when he spoke was unimaginably intense, and it was voices like his that we wanted to convey to our viewers.”

He went on to portray his thoughts on millennials.

“I believe that millennials today have one big virtue and one incredible flaw,” Yoo said. “The virtue is that they know what they want to do. Today’s youth want jobs to satisfy themselves, rather than to mold themselves according to society’s expectations. This is an advantage that no other generation has had before.”

“As millennials are the very first generation not to experience a great lack of something, they seem to be less independent. If millennials can overcome this disadvantage, I have no doubt that they will be able to contribute to society in incredible ways.”

Yoo concluded the interview with his hopes for the future.

“I hope more people in their 20s realize that they should act upon themselves, which is the fundamental reason for publishing the book. Once this is accomplished, our society will develop to a whole new level.”